anyone used a swing arm off a pitbike
they seem cheap and in plentiful amounts come with disc brake but do have a small wheel
just wondering i can get a whole setup for about $40 and seems like a cheap alternative
opinions
and sorry for all the questions just want to get this thing right

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Hi Revtony I had the same idea of using a Pit bike swing arm on my hack build. There is no end of cheap alloy swing arms different rate shocks disk brakes and fancy looking wheels. I would love to see your build and hear your thoughts on these parts.

My main reservation was that I am not sure how good the quality of Pit bike parts are and the pricing isn't much cheaper than used main stream Jap bike parts that most of us are familiar with. The fact you can order the brand new gear off e-bay is attractive though.

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Don't do it! Here's why:
Couple of Xmas's ago, my loud, overbearing, oafish brother-in-law turned up with his kid's Xmas present, a spanking new 125cc Atomic pitbike so the lad could have a ride around (we live on 20 rural acres). About a month before, we'd smashed the piggy-bank to get our daughter a used Yamaha TTR90.
Brother-in-law was loudly proclaiming that he'd spent $800 and got a brand-new 125, whereas we spent $1800 to get a used 90cc.

Problem one on the Atomic is that the swingarm pivot nut is so tight, the arm cannot move at all; loosen that. Find no fuel flows because the cap has no vent: create one, etc, etc.
Well, the two kids start riding around: we have a half-mile driveway, a fire-break trail around the house and various single-tracks into the bush, so no shortage of choice. Our daughter's about 9, nephew about 13 at this stage, but she's had more experience, knows her way around and is leading the way.
About 20 minutes in, the nephew slides off at about 15 mph - and loses a footpeg: not snapped off, but the section of frame it mounted to tore out in a strip about 6" long! The wall-thickness of the tube looked to be under 1 millimetre.
End of riding for the day.

A few days later, I ask the status of the bike: a welder had said there was no way he would try and weld the frame (too thin for purpose) and when he'd put a flame near the torn strip it had vaporised; a replacement frame cost more than a whole new bike...

A few years later, I ask again: nephew had to scratch his head to remember what bike I was talking about, but eventually recalled that it sat outside for a couple of weeks and when he went to "work" on it (to do what exactly, I have no idea!), the entire bike had rusted to buggery and a year or so later, it went out with the hard rubbish collection.

In the interim, he'd taken up archery (since also abandoned); our daughter rode the wheels off her TTR90 for 4 years, not just at our place, but also in family weekends away with us as part of a social trail-riding club: we'd head out for overnight camping trips into the forests and tackle everything from steep snotty climbs to mud, sand and river-crossings. With just basic routine maintenance, the Yamaha never missed a beat but she simply outgrew it, so we sold it for $1600 which went towards her TTR125.

So, 4 years of learning, fun & memories on a Yamaha cost $200; 20 mins on a pitbike cost $800.

I'd say that rather than spend $40 on a cheap Chinese pitbike swingarm, you'd be way better off looking for someone parting out a reputable brand bike. Certainly you'll pay a bit more, but you will have a choice of rear wheel sizes - and a guarantee of quality materials.

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